Word: disneyism
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...short Luxo Jr. in 1986. From the start, he's been the soul of Pixar Animation: he directed its first three hits (Toy Story, A Bug's Life and Toy Story 2) and executive-produced its next three (Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo and The Incredibles). Early this year, when Disney bought Pixar--basically paying about $7 billion for Lasseter's brain--he became boss of the grand old animation studio as well as the most revered modern one. His job: get both groups to make great movies...
...have an uphill journey: not just keeping Pixar on track (Brad Bird's Ratatouille, about a gourmet rodent in Paris, is next, probably followed by Toy Story 3), but also in steering the Mousemobile back to speed. In 1994, when The Lion King capped a series of animation hits, Disney's bright future seemed as sure a bet as Pixar's does now. Then Toy Story came out, and computer animation took over. Before buying Pixar, a desperate Disney had scuttled its traditional animation unit. Lasseter may restore that. "Of all studios that should be doing 2-D animation...
Lasseter is an old hand at humanizing machines. Cars does it in large part with the detailing of "facial" features. Most car 'toons anthropomorphize their characters by having the headlights serve as the eyes. Lasseter, following a charming Disney short, the 1952 Susie, the Little Blue Coupe, made the windshield the eyes. Cars also has fun turning hood ornaments into mustaches, grilles into mouths. More important, it evokes shifts of mood by the subtle shift of body weight, the low growl of an engine...
...probably know, however, there's a competing format called Blu-ray on the way, backed by Sony, Philips, Panasonic, Samsung and Pioneer. The movie studio lineup also tips slightly in Blu-ray's favor, since Fox, Disney and Sony plan to release films only on the Blu-ray format, while Warner and Paramount plan to launch titles in both. But it isn't as easy as simply waiting for Blu-ray either: the initial players, expected in July or August, will list for $1,000 or more, as opposed to the $500 list price for Toshiba's first...
...Indeed, Disney continues to bet that its long-range investment plans in China will pay off, regardless of the recent headaches in Hong Kong. The firm is still in talks with Chinese officials about opening a mainland theme park, possibly in Shanghai, says Rasulo. "Have we made some mistakes?" he asks. "Absolutely. We are in a brand-new market. We have to keep listening and keep learning." Restoring Tinkerbell's health only requires a round of applause, but Hong Kong Disneyland will need a bit more work...